The Pulpit Commentary — Jeremiah — Volume 1 — Section 136

Vers. 3-5.-The rich and the poor meet together. They do so- I. IN MOST MOURNFUL WAYS. 1. In their common exposure to .~orrow and death. :t. In their yet more mournful subJection to the blYlldage of moral evil, both alike leagued together in rebellion against God (cf. text). From which learn: (1) No circumstances alone will shut out sin. (2) If one condition of life has its moral dis- advantages, so has another. (3) That this does not affirm that all are on one level in this respect. They are not so; they who have knowledge and have been taught God's truth may and will j11stly be expected to compare favourably in conduct and character with those not so privileged. (4) That the terribleness of the might of sin is seen i11 the fact that it leaps over the fences and safeguards of happy circumstances and abundant knowledge, as easily as it finds entrance where there are no such fences at all. But the mournfulne~s of this meeting of the rich and poor leads us to look out for and rejoice in other and more happy ones. And there are such. Note, therefore- II. THE BLESSED MEETINGS OF THE mcH AND 'l'HE POOR. 1. In their common possession of a moral and spiritual nature. Those great capacities whereby" a man is so much better than a sheep" are the property of rich and poor alike-to love and be loved; to search out knowledge, to worship, trust, and delight in God. Man is God's jewel, whether it be set in all fit and beautiful surroundings or whether by some mn.lign cause it have fallen into the mud. By its nature, not its surroundings, are we to judge of it. 2. In Ghrist. "He was rich, ... he for our sakes became poor "-thus for ever uniting the two together. He was, whilst on earth, at the same time both rich aad puor, havi □ g at his command more than the vastest resources of the rich, and yet day by day sharing the lot of the poor. He was the Son of man, the Head and Representative of all men-of humanity at large. 3. .At the cross. The common malady craves and finds the common medicine. 'l'he sorrows of the contrite heart are those of no class at all, but are the experience of rich and poor alike ; and the cross alone can soothe them, and thither therefore they alike come. These all are clothed in the robe made white in the blood of the Lamb. 4. In the everlasting kingdom of our God. There the barri~rs of caste and class, which here seem so fixed that they can never be moved, will be broken down, and character alone will determine whether we Bhall stli.nd high up or low down on the steps of the eternal throne. The love of God ia Christ will be the great uniting bond, and, as that rules and governs us, so will our companionship and our condition be ordered. There the rich shall be rid of the many hiudranccs of their lot which make it so" hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of Go<l;" and there the poor shall have said farewell for ever to all the privation and vainful toil of earth. The tears of all sbnll flow no more. Then let us learn: (1) To ell. v, 1-31.] THE DOOK OF THE: PROl'llE'l' JEREMIAH. 133